


Klance Week 2K17

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 12:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10944381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: 7 Days.  7 Prompts.  7 Mini Fics.





	1. Fate or Free Will

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a day late because I close at work so my days and nights kind of blend together. But I'm excited to churn out some drabbles while working on my long fics :D

Lance knocked on Slav's door.  The strange scientist had recently rambled to Pidge about alternate realities and Lance's mind started to whirl.  Slav talked about the different realities in which Voltron didn't exist or Zarkon was still the Black Paladin or Earth was square instead of round.  There were supposedly realities in which Lance was a girl, or had no siblings or was born in the States instead of Cuba.  Or realities where Lance and Keith grew up together or where Lance was actually Altean instead of human.

In short, there was an infinite amount of realities, an infinite amount of lives that Lance lived across these alternate realities.  Pidge sat and discussed these realities with Slav whenever she had the chance (realities where she was born an only child, realities where she was older than Matt) and started cataloging them in different files.  She and Hunk were searching for patterns, for universal constants.

So far, there were none.  In an infinite amount of realities how could something be constant, something the same across all possible scenarios?

Every time Hunk and Pidge brought it up, Slav only quirked his eyebrows and hummed to himself.  He knew something, Lance knew that Slav knew something about universal constants, and he was going to find out.

The door slid open and Slav peeked his head out warily.

"Yes, yes?  Ah, the Blue Paladin!  How can I be of assistance?"

"You know about universal constants, don't you?" Lance asked.

Slav hummed and allowed the door to open all the way.  He gestured for Lance to follow.  Slav's room was organized chaos, papers spread across the floor and over the table.  He had bits of tech lying around, wires tangled together and what looked suspiciously like quintessence in containers pressed up against the walls, partially hidden by metal paneling.

"In an infinite number of realities, there are some things that must remain," Slav said.  "Relationships, families, those sorts of things.  Universal constants are rare, quite rare in fact, that I've seen only one thus far in my life."

Slav turned from where he was looking at his desk.  His eyes scanned Lance up and down.

"What is it?"

"It's you, Lance McClain.  You and Keith."

"What?!"

"In all possibly realities where you two interact, you end up together," Slav explained, walking around Lance and poking him in the hips.  "There are realities in which Keith is the leader of Voltron and you are his second in command.  Or you both live completely normal lives running a food truck.  Or ones where you are an Altean Prince and he your Galra bodyguard.  The possibilities are endless and yet you two continue to find each other."

"Wh - what do you mean we end up together?  Like... together together or - "

"Romantically, of course."

Lance felt his knees buckle and he fell to the ground.  Romantically with Keith?  Him?  How could Lance fall in love with Keith?  It was ridiculous!  Keith had stupid hair and too big eyes and he was reckless and a danger to himself and to Voltron.  How could this impossible relationship transcend alternate realities?

"I think you humans call it soul mates."

"B - but that's impossible!  I hate Keith!  I hate his stupid hair and his stupid eyes and the way he shouts in battle and how good he is with his bayard and - "

"You and Keith are destined to be together," Slav insisted.  His strange eyes locked onto Lance and Lance wondered if Slav really saw different realities as opposed to thinking them in his super-brain.  "It is a universal constant.  It is meant to me, forever and always.  No matter the place or time or lives lived, you two will be together."

"Then what's the point, Slav?  Am I supposed to just accept this fate?  What about my own choices?"

"It is your choice!  You always choose Keith, forever and always.  Your choice is your destiny and your free will to choose Keith allows you to choose him; and choose him you do, you will, and you have."

Lance stumbled away from Slav and his swirling eyes of alternate realities.  He ended up sprawled out in the hallways, his mind whirling with thoughts of Keith as a constant in his life.  Slav's eyes had burned into Lance's own and Lance was spinning, the castle walls swirling around him and his head.

He was dressed in a brown leather jacket, hair long enough to brush past his collar.  His arms were wrapped around someone else, someone with long dark hair and molten dark eyes.  A soft warm voice whispered to him, calling him 'Moody' with fondness.

The castle swirled again and Lance's stomach lurched.

He was at a dance, loose, blue clothing floating around him and all eyes on him, but his eyes were on one person at this interstellar dance.  A young Galran Prince with dark hair and golden eyes lusting on him just the way he wanted it to be.  His sister was going to lecture him about causing a scene but when the Galran Prince swept up to wrap him up in his arms, teeth bared with a possessive edge that set him on fire.

Lance felt his head slump against the floor and nausea swept through his gut, his throat closing against the bile.

He was in a food truck, slapping a burger together for the cutie on the street.

He was dancing across a stage, a gorgeous man as his partner.

He lunged out of a swimming pool, gold medal with his name on it, but his eyes were on one man, cheering in the stands.

So many lives rushed through Lance's eyes and across his mind, each one different and distinct, but there was one constant in those lives, one thing he would constantly see.

Keith.  Keith with long hair, Keith on ice skates, Keith swinging through the air in only a vibrant leotard, Keith holding him close in a tiny dorm room, Keith covered in tattoos and piercings while straddling a red motorcycle.

The castle ceiling swirled back into his field of vision and Lance couldn't catch his breath.

"Lance?"

The voice snapped Lance out of his trance and back into his current reality, his actual life.  His eyes focused on Keith, standing in the hallway with worried eyes.  Had he always been so pretty, with luminous violet eyes and dark hair that contrasted with his milky white skin?  How had Lance not noticed that before?

Keith knelt down next to Lance, his hand carefully hovering over Lance's shoulder, too scared to actually touch.

"Are you okay?" he asked.  "You look, well, pretty shitty."

"I was talking with Slav about alternate realities and universal constants," Lance said.  "It was... a lot to take in."

"Universal constants?"

"Yeah, things that are so strong they transcend alternate realities.  Slav only heard of one and - and it involved me.  And you.  Me and you.  Together.  I guess."

Keith's hand dropped onto Lance's shoulder.  "Us?  Are you sure?"

Lance looked over at Keith sitting beside him.  The last time they were this close, Lance had almost died and he didn't remember much of it.  He remembered Keith smiling, soft and intimate.  He remembered the feeling of Keith's hand in his own.  He wanted to kiss Keith, lean in those few inches and press their lips together.  Lance swallowed.

"Yeah, pretty sure," he said.

"How is that possible?  If there's an infinite number of realities then how can you and I be together in all of them?"

"Fate?  Destiny?  Who knows, Keith."

"So no matter what happens, what choices we make, you and I are going to find each other, is that it?  We don't have a choice?"

"More like we just choose each other all the time," Lance said.

The air between them went heavy and Keith's eyes darkened.  Lance realized what he had said and his face immediately flushed.

"I mean, that's what Slav says."

Keith's hand reached up to cup Lance's cheek.  "Lance, you talk too much."

And then Keith was kissing him.  It was soft and gentle and Lance kissed back before he could think about it.  It didn't matter anymore, what Slav said, because of  _course_ Lance would choose Keith every single time.  He would always choose Keith if he had the chance.  This was coming home, Lance realized.  This was his soul matching the alternate realities and creating that universal constant.

It didn't matter if it was fate or destiny or Lance's own free choice because this, this right here, Keith right beside him and their lips moving in tandem, this is what mattered.


	2. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (angst as heck)

The pain hurt so much he couldn't even hear his lion - a feat that Allura had said was impossible.  All he could feel was searing pain scorching up his side and hot blood slicking across his glove as he pressed his hand against the wound.

His helmet had been knocked off his head during the fight and he couldn't remember where it had landed.  Everything was so blurry, just a green and brown blur of forest.  He had no idea where the others were, if they knew what had happened -

Coughing, his knees buckled and he fell onto the ground.  The moist scent of dirt and moss filled his nose.

He  _saved_ them.  They didn't know, the sensors didn't see what was happening, but he did.  He crashed into the planet, lost his lion, and took down the hidden Galra strike teams before they could flank the others.

In the end, what was his life for Voltron?

He couldn't breathe, each intake of air tore through his lungs and the gash on his side was pulsing sluggishly.  His fingers and toes were freezing and his legs wouldn't stop shaking.  He was probably dying.  He closed his eyes.

There were twelve of them, twelve Galra soldiers against one Voltron Paladin.  Most of them were sentries though, easily disposable and he cut through them quickly.  The actual Galra commanders, however, were a challenge.  One of them had a glowing blue knife that cut across his abdomen, slicing through his armor like butter.  It missed his vital organs, but the wound wouldn't clot, wouldn't stop bleeding.

He was so tired.

So tired.

But the others were safe.  They would move on, they would live, and that was all that mattered.  Voltron needed the others, he would willingly sacrifice himself every single day to keep everyone else alive.

Shiro, the decisive head, the leader that Voltron needed.  Pidge, the protective shield arm, the scientist with a pure heart and pure mind who sought for peace.  Hunk, the steady leg, an engineer with a love stronger than luxite who wouldn't back down from his duty.  Allura, the princess who was quickly becoming Queen and Commander, and Coran, faithful adviser with fatherly love.

And Lance, the heart and soul of Voltron.  The one with an infectious laugh who brought six strangers into a family.  The one with sad, homesick eyes who never once lost sight of his future.  He, who was going to be a hero, a champion, a friend, a lover.

The one that Keith was dying for.

The ground beneath him shifted but Keith's eyes were too heavy to open.  He was so tired, so cold, and he ached everywhere.  He could barely feel the blood oozing between his fingers as he continued to bleed out.  Red was fuzzy in the back of his head, a push of concern and worry that almost overwhelmed the cold.  Almost.

He moved again, his hair sliding against the damp ground.  Something was pulling on his leg, Keith realized, dragging him across the ground.

Then he heard it - a voice.  He didn't understand what it was saying, couldn't even hear words, but the owner of it sounded  _pissed_.  The fuzz in his brain cleared up as he focused on the voice, familiar but distant.

"-ing idiot!  He's not moving, Shiro, and he looks, fuck, he looks so pale.  There's so much blood."

Keith groaned and tried moving his head.  His feet dropped.

"He's alive!  Holy shit!  What do I do?  Shiro?  Pidge?"

After the Galra soldier cut him open, he took his partner and ran off to the woods, leaving Keith for dead.  They were still out there, still alive.  If someone was here to rescue him then they were walking into a trap.

"Yeah, he's breathing, but he's not responding."

Keith felt the person kneel next to him and gloved hands press against his throat.

"Yeah, he's got a pulse, but it's faint.  I don't have my medpack, it's in my lion.  Well, I'm sorry!  It must have slipped my mind when  _Keith went missing_."

The voice paused and Keith could feel the fingers against his neck shaking.

"Don't say it, please.  He can't."

A twig snapped to Keith's left, the opposite side of the voice.  He groaned and shook his head.  He tried to move his arm, to point to where the noises where, but his arm was dead weight against his side.  There was another noise from the same direction, a whisper.

The Galra soldiers were back and the voice didn't know.

Something surged through him and Keith opened his eyes.  He caught sight of blue eyes on a brown face before he turned to his left, yanking out his Blade of Marmora and throwing it at the noise.

A yelp rang through the forest and Keith slumped against the ground and his eyes slipped shut again.  He heard four blaster shots and a body fall to the ground.

Safe.  Now they were safe.

"Keith, fucking, stay with me, Keith!"

It was Lance's voice, a voice that should have been so familiar to him.

"Shiro!  His pulse is fading, what am I supposed to do?  What am I supposed to do?"

Keith coughed and something warm trickled down his chin.  He smiled wanly.

Safe.  Lance was safe.

"Don't you dare, Keith!  Don't you dare die on me, not now!  Keith!"

* * *

Flashes.  Blue and.  White.  The light from Arus.  Red.  Green.  Blue.  Yellow.  Black.  Something inside of him.  Twisted.  Purple and gray exploded.  In front of his.  Eyes.  His heart.  Pounding hard and strong.  He was cold.  Cold and breathing but couldn't.  Move.  Sendak's face.  Holding him back.  A blue knife stabbing.  Into his.  Stomach.  Red on green.  Blood on grass.

He was frozen.  His guts were spilling out and he couldn't.  Move.  Arms locked to his side.  Legs strapped together.

Zarkon hovering.  Over him.  Laughing.  Red gone.  Everyone dead.

Couldn't.  Move.

Move.

MOVE.

Keith gasped and his eyes opened.  He fell forward into warm arms.  He couldn't see - everything was white.  He blinked and slowly things came into focus.  He was in the infirmary.  His cryopod sank into the ground with a plume of white mist.  The arms that held him were brown and well muscled.

"Hey, hey, it's okay."

Keith's legs were wobbly and he was lowered onto a nearby chair.  Slowly, Keith's eyes focused onto the person holding him.  Tired blue eyes sunken into dark circles.  Lips pulled into a taut smile.

"Hi, Lance," Keith croaked.

Those blue eyes softened and went glassy.

"Hey, Keith."

With shaking hands, Keith cradled Lance's face and pulled him close until their lips brushed against each other.  Keith pulled back but didn't let go of Lance.  He ran his thumbs across Lance's chin, catching on the stubble there.

"No, no, come back," Lance mumbled.  "You almost died, I get like, a dozen kisses for that."

"Oh no, what a sacrifice," Keith chuckled and kissed Lance again.

 


	3. Scars

Visiting Earth was always a satisfying experience.  With Zarkon defeated and the universe at peace again, the paladins still had a lot of work ahead of them.  Instead of fighting a revolution, they were in charge of keeping the peace.  Over the years they had quelled rebellions on six different planets, stopped no less than four civil wars, and took down one budding tyrant before she could conquer the universe.

It wasn't exactly the hero's retirement that Lance had dreamed of, but there were some perks to it.

Three of those perks, actually, were sprawled across the beach.

It was a sunny day and the ocean was a gorgeous blue, contrasting with the golden sand.  Lance could actually feel the sun tanning his already dark skin and could see Keith's shoulders start burning.  The rest of the paladins were scattered across the beach.  Shiro seemed to be in an intense discussion with Coran and Allura and Hunk was surfing with Pidge.

"Daddy!"

Lance perked up from the book he was reading and saw his daughter running towards him.  Her curly hair was bouncing across her shoulders and she crashed into him, little arms flinging around his neck.

"Hey, Calli, what's wrong?" Lance asked.

She pulled back.  Her eyes were the same violet color as her papa's and her eyebrows were pulled together.  Her lips were pulled down into a pout and she stuck her nose up in the air.  She was as concerned as an eight year old could be, there were even tears building up in the corner of her eyes.

"I got a cut on my finger and Papa said that it might scar!  And if that happens then I'll have it  _forever_!"

Calli held out her index finger as proof and Lance took it in his own.  On the tip of her finger was a tiny cut, barely a scratch.  Trust Keith to exaggerate an injury on their daughter.

"I dunno, sweetie, scars are pretty cool," Lance said, looking at her finger very seriously.  "You've seen all mine, and they're cool, right?"

"But yours are in cool places!" Calli exclaimed.  She snatched her hand back and pressed her fingers on Lance's chest, tracing a years old scar that crossed over his right pectoral.  "Like this one you got when you had to save Papa!  Or the one on your back when you saved Uncle Coran!"

"They aren't that cool," Lance said, taking Calli's hands into his own.  He took her hand and led it to his left arm.  There was a scar there, still pink and fresh on his forearm.  "This one though, this one is one of my favorites."

Calli frowned and ran her fingers along the edge of the scar.  "But you got this scar when you were taking out Papa's birthday cake.  That's not exciting at all!"

"Calli, my little girl, the best scars come from things that are important," Lance said.  "I've got a lot of them and I'm going to get a lot more.  So is your Papa.  I don't remember how I got a lot of them, but the ones I get because of you, or Papa, or your brother, those are the ones I cherish because those came from something that matters."

She looked up at Lance.  Her eyes were big and emotive and Lance fell even more in love with his daughter every time she looked at him.

"I got hurt because I was trying to grab a seashell for Papa and the edges were sharp," she said slowly and deliberately.  "So if I get a scar it's because I was trying to make Papa happy and that's a good scar."

"That's right, baby," Lance grinned.

Calli grinned, dimples popping on her cheeks.  She spun around, curly hair whipping across her shoulders, and ran back to Keith and Lucas.  Lance laughed to himself and settled back against his towel.  Eventually, Keith dug out their son, pulling up Lucas by his arms and tossing him onto his shoulders.  He patted Calli on the shoulder and they walked back to Lance.  Calli's arms were filled with shells.

There was a thick scar across Keith's abdomen, a dusky pink across his pale skin.  Keith lowered Lucas onto the ground and he sprinted to Lance.  He smiled and collapsed next to Lance, showing the gap between his teeth.  His freckles were bright against his pink cheeks.

"Papa buried me in the sand!" Lucas cheered.  "I'm hungry.  Can I eat now?"

Lance pulled out sandwiches from the picnic basket next to him and handed one to Lucas, ruffling his hair.  Lucas swatted his hand and Lance chuckled to himself.  Keith and Calli came up next, sitting on the blanket and splitting up the sandwiches and juices between them.  Calli started telling a story about how she saw a shark in the water and Lucas immediately interrupted her.  The two bantered back and forth and Lance tuned them out.

He leaned up against his husband, pressing a kiss to the scar on Keith's shoulder.

"Happy Anniversary," he whispered.

Keith turned his head and kissed Lance properly.  "Happy Anniversary."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely toyed with the idea of Trans!Keith having carried the babies and having a c-section scar BUT I personally have no experience with that and, in an effort to not be offensive or incorrect, I made it more vague to neither support nor deny that concept. But I like, really like that idea???
> 
> That being said, I hope I made the right decision. I try not to write about things I have no experience with because that isn't fair to those of you who have experience. And if anyone wants to educate me, I am on tumblr under gameralexis51.tumblr.com and I would love to learn and/or just chat.


	4. Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in the same AU as my Castle on the Hill series. You don't need to read it to understand this, just that Keith and Lance grew up in a small town together before ending up as part of Voltron.

The air was cool and damp as Keith walked out of the house.  It was early spring and the sun hadn't risen yet, leaving the town in the dim light of pre-dawn.  He pulled his jacket closer around him and walked faster.

It had been years since he was last in Meadow Springs.  It looked the same as when he left at fifteen.  Country roads and little stores surrounded by lush farmland with an old church on top of a hill.  He walked past  _Sammy's_ and grinned at the memory of first meeting Lance.  There was the mechanic shop that used to be run by the Holts before they moved.

He walked by his old house, the one he grew up in with the only family he had ever known.  It looked so much smaller than he remembered.  He and Shiro used to run around the backyard and climb those trees, imagining they were sailing a pirate ship.  Keith laughed to himself.  If he tried to climb those trees now he'd break the branches

Down a few streets was Lance's old home.  Close enough that they spent their entire childhood together but far enough that goodbyes hurt.  Keith had spent more summers at the McClain's home than his own, running amok with Lance and Gabriella.

Keith almost paused to knock on the door, to see Mama McClain and have tea with her.  She was a horrible gossip and a wonderful mother and instantly took in Keith as one of her own children.  Keith missed her tremendously but he had a time table to keep.

Checking his watch, Keith pushed his legs into a slow jog.  The sun would be rising soon and he couldn't be late.  The cool air burned his lungs as he jogged up the hill to the small church.  He half expected to see two trucks, one red and one blue, parked side by side in the lot, just like when they were teenagers.  Instead, there was a gray minivan, trunk popped open to the east and a familiar figure sitting with his legs hanging out.

Lance peered around and grinned.

"Took you long enough."

Keith laughed and he walked up to Lance.  He hopped into the trunk beside Lance and gave him a kiss.  "Sorry, babe.  Took a walk down memory lane."

Lance kissed him back and laced their fingers together.  "It's strange, isn't it?  Being back here."

"It looks exactly the same."

"I can't believe it's been ten years...."

"It hasn't?" Keith looked over at his fiance.  "It's only been seven years since you left for the Garrison."

Lance brought Keith's hand to his lips, pressing a kiss on his fingers.  "But it's been ten years since you and I were last here together."

Keith flushed.  "When we watched the sunset and counted the stars."

"And got drunk!  And you kissed me!"

"You kissed me back!"

"Of course I did!  I don't hear you complaining about it now!"

"Only you would remember our first kiss as some... some... drunken escapade."

"Um, babe, it was."

Keith tried to glare at Lance, but he couldn't help the smile that broke through his composure.  He had replayed that night in his mind for the past ten years until it was a memory worn with age and softened with fondness.  Lance's thumb ran across Keith's ring and his grip tightened.  Lance's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth was pinched into a thin line.

"I know that face," Keith scooted closer to Lance.  "What's wrong?"

Lance sighed and lowered his head.  He played idly with Keith's hand, flipping it over and tracing the lines of his palm.  Keith waited.

"I just... I thought it'd be like coming home," Lance eventually said.  "Like... remember when you came with me to Cuba?  And we were gone for like, a week?  I thought it'd feel like that.  Sleeping in your own bed, having your own shower, being  _home_.  But it doesn't feel like that at all.  I don't know what it is, Keith, but it's not... it's not the coming home I thought it was going to be."

"It's like finding your old clothes," Keith said.  He rested his chin on Lance's shoulder.  "Remember after you hit your growth spurt and we had to go through your entire closet?  And there were so many old things that didn't fit you anymore?  We spent hours going through it, remembering all the stupid things we did as kids.  It was like coming home, but it was also letting go of the past and finding a new home."

"Yeah, it's kinda like that."

The sun broke through the horizon and the sky was lit up with pale blue and baby pink.  Buttery sunlight filled the air and caught on the dewy grass.  From their vantage point, Keith could see Meadow Springs warm in the light, dew sparkling like diamonds.  They sat there, in the back of a rented minivan, for hours, watching the sunrise and the people of Meadow Springs start to wake up.  Farmers started to head out to tend their fields before the heat of midday, kids ran out to catch the school bus.

Lance's stomach rumbled.

"Let's go home," Keith whispered.

 

The doors slid shut behind them as they walked inside, hand in hand.  Keith took a deep breath and felt the tension drop from his shoulders at the smell of cycled air.  There was a familiar humming noise in the background.  He could hear Coran shouting and the beeping of Pidge's robot army.   Keith knew these hallways as clearly as he knew the freckles on Lance's skin.

They walked to the rec room and with each step, Keith felt more and more relaxed.  Shiro was passed out on one of the sofas, his daughter asleep on his chest.  The room was in absolute chaos, Earth and Altean toys scattered all over the floor.  Allura walked in, hair frazzled and newborn son cradled in her arms.  At the sight of Keith and Lance, she lit up.

"Oh, thank the ancients you're back!" she cried.  "Nivia has been  _terrible_ since you two left!  One might think that she was your daughter, not mine!"

"It's because Lance gives her candy before bed," Keith said, ignoring the betrayed noise that Lance made.  He came forward and gently took the baby from Allura.  "Go take Shiro to bed, we got the kids."

Allura looked on the verge of tear.  "Thank you, Keith."

Lance lifted Nivia easily into his arms.  She slept soundly on and Lance brushed her hair from her face, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.  Allura woke up Shiro and led him, still half asleep, down to their bedroom.  Keith stifled a laugh at the sight of his big brother stumbling on his feet, nearly running into the wall.

"This feels better," Lance sat down on the sofa, nestling Nivia carefully in his arms.  Keith sat down next to him.  In a few hours, Nivia would be awake and demand attention from her uncles and wake up her little brother and the chaos would start again.  They had a festival to attend tomorrow and Shiro's coronation next week.  Then there was their own wedding to plan.

The Castle hummed beneath them and the lions were resting in their hangers.  Keith felt his eyes grow heavy as he leaned into Lance.  The smells and sounds were comforting and washed over Keith like a familiar blanket.  He blinked slowly and grinned up at Lance.

"Welcome home."


End file.
